The Penguin Lady responds to An Oily Problem

In a recent post I shared this Ted talk The Great Penguin Rescue in which “the penguin lady” Dyan deNapoli talks about an oil spill that occurred when a ship sank off the coast of South Africa in the year 2000, oiling nearly 20,000 (almost half) of the total population of African penguins, and the efforts made to rescue them.

The rescue was successful with 90 percent of the oiled penguins returned to the wild.

I found Dyan’s story inspiring, not only for the penguin rescue, but for the learning she credits to the rescue, especially that one person can make a difference, and that “when we come together and work as one, we can achieve extraordinary things.”

I was delighted when Dyan read the post and supplied additional information. Since so many of you were interested in her story, I wanted to share with you what Dyan had to say.

Hello Norah! I just came across your great post about oil and oil spills. Thank you so much for sharing my TED talk about the Treasure oil spill rescue, and for informing your audience about these important issues. I really enjoyed your flash fiction, and listening to Cesar Harada’s TED talk as well.

Thank you for providing information about how folks can adopt a penguin. I wanted to share the websites of a few more penguin rescue centers that are in need of support, and through which folks can adopt a penguin or fund the hand-rearing of an abandoned penguin chick. There are many organizations rescuing penguins throughout the Southern Hemisphere (there’s actually a complete list of these groups in the appendix of my book, The Great Penguin Rescue), but the following three are organizations doing great work that I regularly support and like to highlight. These are all groups that are doing direct, hands-on work to save oiled or injured penguins. (I also regularly support The Penguin Foundation in Australia, which you’ve already listed above.)

I hadn’t realised that Dyan had written a book about The Great Penguin Rescue, but I immediately downloaded and started listening to the audiobook. It is a great read and I highly recommend it. I am not alone in doing so. The book has won three awards.

In the book, Dyan tells the story of how she came to be The Penguin Lady, provides information about penguins, and explains how the great penguin rescue was carried out. (Probably other stuff too, but I haven’t finished listening yet.) I have also ordered a hardback copy as it includes colour photographs. I’m looking forward to receiving it in a week or two.

And to answer your question about when and how I became interested in penguins, it was quite accidental. I had returned to college at the age of 31 to pursue my lifelong dream of working with dolphins (which I briefly did in Hawaii), and during my senior year I landed a full-time, 4-month internship in the Penguin Department at the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA. From the moment I stepped into the penguin exhibit and found myself surrounded by 65 honking, braying, cavorting penguins, I was pretty-much hooked. Their behaviors captivated me, and I was totally surprised to discover that each individual had their own unique personality and temperament – not really what I had expected in a colonial bird. And I wanted to learn more about them.

I stayed on as a volunteer at the aquarium after graduating, and when a position finally opened up a year later, I applied for and got the position of Penguin Aquarist. I was at the aquarium for 9 years in total, and after leaving there at the end of 2004, I founded my company, The Penguin Lady, to teach kids and adults of all ages about penguin biology, behavior, and conservation. I speak in a variety of settings both locally and internationally, and donate 20% of my proceeds to penguin rescue, research, and conservation groups. One of my favorite gigs is being a guest speaker/penguin expert on nature cruises, and next February I’ll be returning to Antarctica as a guest lecturer for Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic, which I’m VERY excited about!! My mission is to raise awareness and funding to protect penguins – 13 of the 18 penguin species are currently listed as Vulnerable, Near-Threatened, or Endangered, and that is what drives me to do the work that I do.

Thank you, Dyan, for sharing so generously.

There is much more to discover about The Penguin Lady and The Great Penguin Rescue. She is as passionate about education as she about penguins. Through educating us about caring for penguins, she is helping us care for the environment and make a better world. You may be surprised by some of the information in this wonderful educational video. I was.

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28 thoughts on “The Penguin Lady responds to An Oily Problem”

What a lovely post! It’s so nice to learn about The Penguin Lady and the wonderful work she does. We are so lucky to have people looking out for our wonderful wildlife. Thanks Norah and Dyan for sharing!

How exciting that the Penguin Lady got back to you! And for me it was equally exciting to read that she got her start right here at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Their penguin exhibit is fabulous. The center of the aquarium is an enormous cylinder tank with a spiral walkway on the outside for visitors to walk along, from bottom to top and then back down. Brilliant design. A great career start for The Penguin Lady.

I’m pleased you enjoyed the post, Jennie. Imagine the Penguin Lady being a local. I love the sound of the penguin exhibit at the NE Aquarium. Sounds fabulous. Have you taken the children there? How great to introduce them to the work of their very own local Penguin Lady. 🙂

I agree! Other guidelines are also in place, like CPR, First Aid, and a background records check for driver/helpers. Good ideas, but few people are willing to take courses and undergo all that just in order to drive.

There is something of the ridiculous in the penguin that makes them so compelling. Lovely post and response Norah; having been lucky enough to visit penguin colonies in South Africa and NZ and on Kangaroo Island as well as work with the penguins at London zoo i get Dyan’s fascination. Long may we try and repair the damage we also do.

When you know a little of their amazing abilities, they don’t seem quite as ridiculous do they? They are fascinating birds, and I so envy the opportunities you had to see them in their natural habitats. I’ve only visited them in zoos. I’m not sure if I saw them at the London Zoo though. But we have them in aquariums here and I saw them in the NY City zoo too. I hope, as you say, that many future generations will be able to appreciate them in the wild. Thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts Geoff.

Norah, I add my voice to the general delight that the Penguin Lady stopped by and added to that original (fabulous) post. It is a great compliment when the subject matter takes the time to join in! 🙂 I was also delighted, of course, that Dyan mentioned the Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust, something that is dear to my heart – those little creatures would be a great loss to us if we cannot bring them back from the brink of extinction. Congratulations on receiving this great compliment! The book is now on my want to read list 🙂

Thank you for adding your thoughts, Pauline. It is very sad to think that so many of the penguins are vulnerable or close to extinction. I think you’ll enjoy the book. I thought it might be a bit dry, but it is totally fascinating. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂